This July 4, we can look at our country’s flaws and commit ourselves to doing something to help make it right
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, let’s think about three things.
First: celebration! It’s fitting that we celebrate the birth of our nation as a great gift both to ourselves and to the world.
There are many things that comprise “the genius of America,” but I would name one of them as the conviction that the unprecedented is possible. Breaking away from the parent nation? Unprecedented at the time, yet we did it. Establishing — and sustaining — a democratic republic, rather than a monarchy? Unprecedented at the time, yet we did it. The journey of Lewis and Clark, powered flight, putting a man on the moon. Over and over, in many different ways, we have shown a flair for conceiving and achieving the unprecedented. Looking back on those things should open our imaginations for looking forward: What else might we accomplish?
Second: repentance. As we look back on the many achievements of our nation, we also encounter many failures. How fitting that the Church has us reading this week from the prophet Amos, who called for national repentance in ancient Israel. In his recently released encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo XIV calls for an examination of conscience on the basis of Catholic Social Teaching. In a similar vein, we might ask each other: If you could rewind national history and rewrite some element of it, what would you change?
I think there are many good answers to that question, because there are many flaws in our history. Just as we have many different professions, each making distinct contributions to the flourishing of society, there can be many things that capture our attention and need healing as we look back on the past. So let’s ask each other: “What has your attention?”
If I could name one thing, it would be: care for the vulnerable. We can look at the legacy of slavery and racial inequality. We can look at the way we have always treated immigrants — yes, we’re a nation of immigrants, but history shows that we have always treated immigrants badly at first. We can — and must these days — look at the most vulnerable among us: the unborn. We continue to directly kill more than 1 million unborn children every year. We have strengths to celebrate and persistent character flaws to lament.
Third and last: teshuva. It’s a concept I’m borrowing from our Jewish brothers and sisters. While often translated as “repentance,” it doesn’t simply mean feeling regret. It means to “return,” to show — by your actions — that you have turned from wrong and made something right.
I propose this: As we look at the failures in our nation’s history, it’s easy to complain about others and to expect “them” to fix the flaws. What if, instead, we look at those flaws and commit ourselves to doing something that can help to make it right — to making “teshuva” with our own lives? Jesus certainly showed us that making one’s own life a sacrifice can affect others. Let’s follow His example!
This week, we have an opportunity to recognize our nation’s achievements, admit our nation’s faults and make our own lives a contribution to a better future. That’s a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July.
God bless America!
